Scotland’s nine Monitor Farms are preparing to host their final meetings of the current programme after four years of testing new ideas, making changes and sharing results with their local farming communities.
The series will begin with the Argyll Monitor Farm on Islay on September 25 before travelling across Scotland and concluding in Roxburghshire on November 12.
But the final meetings will not simply look back over the four-year programme. Instead, the focus will be on what has changed, what has made a difference and where each farming business goes next.
Beth Alexander, Monitor Farm Scotland programme manager, said: “Over the last four years we’ve seen our Monitor Farmers challenge themselves, try new approaches and make changes to their businesses. These final meetings are our opportunity to bring that journey together – to look at where each farm started, what has changed and, importantly, what they have learned along the way.
“We also want to look forward. Each of our Monitor Farmers has been thinking about where they want their business to be in five years and the practical steps they need to take to get there.
“That makes these meetings relevant far beyond the nine Monitor Farms. The challenges and opportunities they are considering – whether around profitability, productivity, people, the environment or adapting their businesses for the future – will be familiar to farmers across Scotland.”
Each meeting will hear directly from the Monitor Farmers about their experiences of the programme, including the changes they have introduced and the impact those changes have had on their farms and businesses.
A ‘From the Field to the Future’ panel discussion will also form part of the programme.
The panel will bring together the Monitor Farmer, another local farmer and an adviser connected to the project to explore some of the opportunities and challenges facing farming businesses in the years ahead.
Alexander said: “One of the real strengths of Monitor Farm has always been farmers learning from farmers. These meetings aren’t intended to be presentations about a ‘perfect’ farm – they are about sharing what has worked, what hasn’t, the decisions that have been made and what others can take from that experience.
“Whether someone has followed their local Monitor Farm throughout the four years or has never attended a meeting before, I would really encourage them to come along. There should be something in every meeting that gets people talking, questioning and thinking about their own businesses.
“While these are the final meetings of this Monitor Farm programme, the conversations, relationships and changes it has created will continue well beyond them.”
The meetings will take place across Scotland between September 25 and November 12.
The final meeting dates are:
Argyll – Friday, September 25
Strathspey – Friday, October 2
Deeside – Wednesday, October 7
South Ayrshire – Wednesday, October 28
Banff and Buchan – Friday, October 30
East Lothian – Monday, November 2
Dumfries – Tuesday, November 3
Stirling – Wednesday, November 4
Roxburghshire – Thursday, November 12
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